Tag: IDF

Not sure if anyone has seen this yet, but Al-Monitor/Israel Pulse has a great interview with two members of the Israeli Defense Force Cyber Security Team.

In the article, “IDF Hackers Test Israeli Preparedness For Cyberattacks” Lt. Col M. and Capt. A. discuss what it is like being on Israel’s crack team of cyber ninjas. They cover several key topics including thoughts on current threats and the current hot button topic, NSA spying.

Lt. Col M. and Capt. A. lead opposing teams in red team drills. They practice constantly to hone and perfect their skills, but also teach and train those under them to think out of the box in cyber security.

How will the IDF cyber team deal with increasingly sophisticated attacks from Islamic countries and are they concerned about NSA espionage practices?

“Our job is to monitor the goings-on and keep track of the technological developments, and we need to know what the threats and risks in cyberspace are. In any event, to protect strategic assets, encryption systems that we develop ourselves in-house, rather than off-the-shelf products, are customarily used,” said Lt. Col M.

The best hackers and security teams create their own programs and work on developing their own exploits. But where would the IDF look to find exploits or weaknesses?

“Security holes can be found anywhere. The point of hacking is to find the system vulnerability and leverage it to undermine the entire system,” says Lt. Col. M.

“The best way to break into a system is not by running head-on into it. Rather, the most sophisticated attacks, the ones that you can brag about, are those that take advantage of a hidden security hole,” added Capt. A.

It is a very good article and well worth the read as it offers a glance into the security mindset of our Middle East allies.